Not a Good Evening for the Lakers

It was just like old times, with Boston Celtic fans unpacking their “Beat L.A.” chant in the fourth quarter, an apt precursor to what would become relatively new territory for the Lakers.

Fifty-six games into the season, the Lakers officially became a .500 team when Kobe Bryant’s three-point shot failed to extend their existence another five minutes in a 104-101 loss Wednesday in front of 18,624 at FleetCenter.

The Lakers, 28-28, haven’t had this poor of a record this late in the season since 1993-94, the last time they missed the playoffs.

In losing their fourth game in a row, the Lakers marked the one-month date of Rudy Tomjanovich’s resignation by showing many of the same inconsistencies that have plagued them throughout the season. They took a lot of three-point shots (23) and made few (eight), and their defense was substandard yet again as they fell to 4-25 when giving up 100 or more points.

“Every day it’s the first thing we talk about,” Coach Frank Hamblen said. “If you want to be a good team in this league, if you want to continue after April, then you have to defend.”

Chucky Atkins had 29 points, 14 in the final six minutes, and Bryant had 26 points, although his three-point attempt with four seconds left was long. Ricky Davis took the rebound. The Celtics took the game.

Bryant, who earlier in the day settled a civil lawsuit filed by the woman who accused him of sexual assault, insisted the season was not beyond repair.

“It just makes for a good Hollywood story,” Bryant said. “In another week, maybe we can be four games over [.500] again. I’m very optimistic. I let you guys be pessimistic.

“We’ve been through a lot the first half of the season, [a] coaching change and my injury and missing 14 games, so it could be worse. We’re in playoff contention.”

Bryant had 17 points in the first quarter but cooled considerably. The right ankle he severely sprained in January tightened as he sat on the bench toward the end of the third quarter, and he hobbled noticeably the rest of the game. He didn’t score in the fourth quarter.

Bryant wasn’t able to get the same lift he usually does, although the condition isn’t expected to be serious in the long term.

There were other, more immediate, concerns that awaited the Lakers.

If there’s something to be said for team basketball, the box score spoke loudly. The Celtics had assists on 26 of their 39 field goals. The Lakers had assists on only 16 of their 37 field goals.

On a winless three-game trip, the Lakers had problems stopping Toronto’s Jalen Rose (26 points), New York’s Tim Thomas (35 points) and, on Wednesday, Davis.

Davis nearly doubled his average with 29 points. Paul Pierce also had 29.

Atkins, who has become an introspective and, when necessary, critical voice of the team, had little to offer after the latest loss.

“I don’t really know what to say,” he said. “You all might be better off going to talk to somebody else tonight, because I really don’t know what to tell you. I don’t. I thought defense was going to be our thing, defense was our thing, defense was our thing.... I don’t know what to tell you.”

The frustration was evident in the third quarter, when Caron Butler and Lamar Odom took turns glaring at the referees on three consecutive possessions, asking when the foul calls would come their way.

On the other side of the court, the Celtics ran their winning streak to three games since reacquiring Antoine Walker from the Atlanta Hawks last week.

Elated Celtic fans welcomed Walker back during pregame introductions as if he were the second coming of Larry Bird. He wasn’t, scoring 16 points on six-for-17 shooting, although he did have 13 rebounds and four blocked shots.

The Lakers, in their four-game losing streak, have given up more than 100 points each time.

“You’ve got to draw that line in the sand and say, ‘Hey you’re not coming over on this side,’ ” Hamblen said. “We’ll just see if we’re able to do that.”

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Ring out the old

Championship seasons for the Celtics and Lakers, including regular-season records. (This season, the Celtics are 30-28 and the Lakers are 28-28):

*--* CELTICS LAKERS 1956-57 44-28 1948-49 44-16 1958-59 52-20 1949-50 51-17 1959-60 59-16 1951-52 40-26 1960-61 57-22 1952-53 48-22 1961-62 60-20 1953-54 46-26 1962-63 58-22 1971-72 69-13 1963-64 59-21 1979-80 60-22 1964-65 62-18 1981-82 57-25 1965-66 54-26 1984-85 62-20 1967-68 54-28 1986-87 65-17 1968-69 48-34 1987-88 62-20 1973-74 56-26 1999-00 67-15 1975-76 54-28 2000-01 56-26 1980-81 62-20 2001-02 58-24 1983-84 62-20 Note: First five Laker championships were in Minneapolis 1985-86 67-15

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Los Angeles Times